SEBI Barred Copthall Mauritius Investment, Mansi Share & Stock Broking Over Alleged Price Manipulation

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Copthall Mauritius Investment and Mansi Share and Stock Broking from the securities market over alleged manipulation of closing prices.

The regulator said the firms violated market rules on August 13 during the expiry of weekly derivatives contracts linked to the BSE Sensex. SEBI alleged that Copthall placed buy orders while Mansi entered large sell orders during the closing auction session used to determine the final prices of securities. According to the interim order, the trading activity affected prices of Sensex constituent stocks. Mansi subsequently cancelled a large part of its sell orders, SEBI said.

The regulator estimated gains of Rs 2.96 crore for Copthall and Rs 72 lakh for Mansi and ordered the seizure of Rs 3.68 crore from the two entities.

The order will remain in force while SEBI conducts further investigation into the matter.